The State Department has revealed the deputy U.S. ambassador to Russia was expelled from the country as the Pentagon warned of Moscow sending troops closer to the Ukrainian border and stocking up on blood supplies. Russia’s TASS news agency reports Deputy Ambassador Bart Gorman was ordered out of the country despite having a valid visa. Jason Rebholz, an embassy spokesman, said Gorman had left the country in January and called his expulsion “an escalation in relations.” He said the State Department was examining various ways to respond. The expulsion was announced as tensions over Ukraine reached a boiling point, with the Pentagon warning that, despite the Kremlin’s claims of a troop withdrawal, Russian forces were actually moving closer to Ukraine and now stocking up on blood supplies.
